(a) Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a surgical microscope apparatus, and more particularly to an apparatus for maintenance of a surgical microscope.
(b) Description of the prior art
In medical apparatus such as surgical microscopes, reliability and maintenance are of importance in view of their functions. That is, it is required that the apparatus of the type cause virtually no failure and, in case there should be any failure, they are easy in repair and can return to an original state within a short time.
FIG. 1 shows an example of known surgical microscope apparatus. In this figure, reference symbol B represents a stand for electrical equipment, P a post inserted upright into the stand B for electrical equipment, L a lamp house provided at the top of the pole P, A an arm attached to the pole P, M a lens unit body of a stereomicroscope mounted at a free end of the arm A through an electric focusing device F, G a light guide for introducing illumination light from the lamp house into an illuminating optical system, not shown, incorporated in the lens unit body, and S a foot switch for operating an electric magnification device V housed in the electric focusing device F and the lens unit body M through control circuits, not shown, incorporated in the stand B for electrical equipment. The magnification device V and the focusing device F are driven by stepping operation on the foot switch and an affected part to be operated is illuminated by an illumination device during the surgical operation.
Now, assuming that the electric magnification device V or the electric focusing device F is not actuated by the stepping of the foot switch, this trouble is attributable, as electrical causes, to one or more of (i) the failure of the foot switch S, (ii) the failure of an electric magnification control circuit or an electric focusing control circuit housed in the stand B for electrical equipment and (iii) the failure of the electric magnification device V or the electric focusing device F.
In conventional surgical microscopes, however, it has been required that by receiving a communication from a user for the failure of the microscope apparatus as an example, a service man checks, in the field, each of the foot switch S, the stand B for electrical equipment and the electric magnification device V or the electric focusing device F, in order to troubleshoot the apparatus with respect to the above causes of failure, confirms the failure and then prepares parts necessary for repair, before starting to repair the apparatus. As such, where the failure of the apparatus is once caused and must be eliminated rapidly, various difficulties have been encountered that not only sometimes such demand cannot properly be met, but also a fatal accident may be brought about due to insufficient maintenance, though the repair has been effected.